Linton-based military personnel are among the worst behaved in the country, ticking up nearly as many criminal convictions since 2019 as those at all other bases combined.
Figures provided under the Official Information Act show 46 regular force personnel – non-civilian defence force staff excluding reserves – were convicted of criminal offences in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Twenty of those were based at Linton Military Camp, easily making soldiers at the Manawatū camp – the largest army camp in New Zealand – the worst behaved.
I see the reporter does not notice the percentage of offenders compared to the number of personnel in the various jurisdictions. Would it matter, perceptually, IF 1% of the Linton crew were offending but 10% of the Burnham crew are offending?
ReplyDeleteThere are over 2000 personnel at Linton. [https://www.nzdf.mil.nz/nzdf/where-we-are/linton/]
I had a little trouble finding numbers for Burnham. This is the closest I could find [https://www.nzdf.mil.nz/nzdf/where-we-are/burnham/#:~:text=Burnham%20Camp%20hosts%20around%201300,units%20that%20are%20based%20here.]
1% of 2000 does not seem that far off from 1.15% of 1300 (which apparently includes civilians), or
1% of 2000 does not seem more than 3.49% of 430 [https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102163773/behind-the-wire-what-goes-on-inside-burnham-military-camp]
I haven't spent the time to see a national per capita rate for civilian adult offenders.
Chris, thoughts on my WAG?
Phil, that is a pertinent observation. There can be a tendency by reporters to take a selective approach to data in order to generate controversy. There are a variety of factors that ought to be considered. You've identified a key concern - actual numbers compared to percentage of the military population.
ReplyDeleteOther factors include the types of units on a base and the demographic composition. Certainly, in Canada, units with a generally younger composition have a higher percentage of disciplinary and criminal proceedings. The types of military occupations can also be indicators. Occupations that generally require a degree of maturity will generally experience lower rates of infractions, while some of the more 'traditionally aggressive' military classifications will experience a greater percentage of disciplinary proceedings. Too, types of offences are more common with certain military occupations.
In sum, the news article is light on both data and analysis.